NEWS: Avalanche Acquire Goaltender Kinkaid, Send Bowers to Boston

The Colorado Avalanche have made a trade.

Granted, it’s a small one. But a trade is a trade.

On Saturday afternoon, the club announced that they had acquired veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid from the Boston Bruins. Kinkaid will immediately report to the Colorado Eagles.

In exchange, the Avalanche gave up forward Shane Bowers.

It’s a disappointing end to the Shane Bowers era, which started with such promise. Bowers was a piece of the Matt Duchene trade in 2017, and was a former first round pick for the Ottawa Senators. He always showed well at training camp, but injuries and inconsistent play in the AHL kept him from making the leap to the NHL.

He suited up for his first NHL game this season, but was injured just a few shifts in.

The acquisition of another goaltender is an interesting one. Pavel Francouz has been out with an injury, and we had originally been given a three-week timeline. This could indicate his injury recovery will take longer than expected, but we’ll wait for more information from the team.

Kinkaid has plenty of NHL experience, with 168 career games. He was the backup in New Jersey for many years, but has only suited up for the Bruins once this season.

Stay tuned to CHN for more updates as the NHL trade deadline approaches.

In the meantime, here’s more information on Kinkaid from the press release.

Kinkaid, 33, has appeared in 20 games with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins this season, posting a 8-7-4 record, with a 3.10 goals-against average and .909 save percentage. He has also played in one game for the Boston Bruins, earning a win on Nov. 12 against Buffalo.

Signed by New Jersey as a free agent on April 18, 2011, Kinkaid has appeared in 168 career NHL games with the Devils, Montreal, NY Rangers and Boston, recording a 70-58-21 record with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. He was the first goaltender in NHL history to have each of his first three starts decided in a shootout and earned his first NHL win in the last of those three contests, beating Tampa Bay on Dec. 19, 2014. Kinkaid has also appeared in two Stanley Cup Playoff contests, both with New Jersey during the 2017-18 season. The Farmingville, New York, native set a career high with 26 wins that campaign, going 26-10-3 to help the Devils make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.